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Category: Regularly Asked Questions

Building Peace through the Arts | Donaghmore Village Public Art Commission

Tender to commission the appointment of an artist to design, produce and install an artwork in the public realm.
DDCA seeks expressions of interest from experienced and suitably qualified artists or design teams in developing a new public artwork. The total budget available for the artwork is up to £30,000 (inclusive of VAT) Appointment of the successful artist/design team is contingent upon the availability of funds from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.

Applicants are requested to read the full content of the brief, CLICK HERE, carefully as it contains important information pertaining to all stages of the commission.

APPLICATION PROCESSStage 1
Expressions of InterestExpressions of Interest are sought from artists (or a team of collaborating artists) to deliver a piece of Public Art. Shortlisting will be based on the information provided (see Appendix A in the brief) using the Evaluation Criteria set out in Appendix B. Please read Appendix A in the brief carefully and comply fully with the requirements.
The deadline for receipt of applications is 30th April 2015 at 5pm. The selection panel will consider submissions received by this deadline and select up to three artists to go forward to Stage 2 of this process.

Stage 2
Proposal£500 is available to up to three artists / teams who will be invited to present their proposals to the selection panel. Shortlisted artists / teams will be invited to a site visit when informed of selection to stage 2, The proposal must include; sketch designs, visualisations and/or a maquette as well as an explanation of the concept for the artwork, how it relates to our theme and how the artist/artist team would approach its design, fabrication and installation. Details of maintenance requirements and lifespan expectations should also form part of the presentation. The artist/artist team must demonstrate how the work can be implemented.

ARTIST’S BRIEFTheme : Celebrating Donaghmore’s History & Heritage

Donaghmore is a village very proud of its rich history and heritage. There are a number of monuments that exist in the village that remind us of the past such as; the stone walls, High Cross, Bronze age burial sites & Listed Buildings that have all shaped the heritage of the village.

Despite a lot of good relations work already having taking place some people are still living with the trauma of the Troubles. The highly visible location of the sculpture will remind everyone of moving on and should celebrate the many aspects of our shared history and heritage. The desire of the local people is to accommodate differences for the sake of providing a safe environment for their children and grandchildren.

‘New-comer families’ have made Donaghmore their home and this sculpture will represent our openness to share our past and the willingness of the community to welcome new influences in the future. An interactive sculpture would encourage those who enjoy it to remember its meaning and ethos.

The villages beautiful monuments remind us of our past heritage and history and this new sculpture should signify our new evolving heritage; acknowledging the importance of our past but looking forward to our bright and exciting shared peaceful future. An interactive sculpture would allow the community to not only appreciate the artwork but be part of it

What the community said in consultation:

“The blacksmith’s yard was a place for a yarn and a place to hear all the latest news and craic”. “

“I used to sit in school and listen out for the sound of the anvil in the street outside and I loved that sound “

The pipe band..” The pipe band was important because it was naturally cross community”

Our help desk have a number of questions that are constantly asked by our members. In this section we outline our advice under the following headings.

If you have a query you would like answered please contact our help desk by telephone or at info@visualartists.ie

Membership
Why should I become a member of Visual Artists Ireland?
What are the benefits of being a member of Visual Artists Ireland?

Contracts
What should I look for in an exhibition contract?

Tax & Self-Employment
I wish to apply for the Artists’ Tax Exemption. How do I go about it?
I am an artist registered as self-employed. Please would you advise me regarding preparing my annual tax returns.

Exhibiting
How do I attract professional critics and curators to my exhibition?

Selling
I am considering using an agent to help me promote and sell my work. Where can I find one?

Pricing & Costings
I have won a commission to design a corporate Christmas card for a commercial company. Would you advise me as to the going rate for this type of work?

Copyright
I have been approached by a person who wishes to one of my images on an album cover. Can you advise me on the copyright implications of such an exchange?

Commissions
I have completed a commission for a local authority. What are the implications of ownership and copyright with regard to public art commissions?

Visual Artists Ireland recommends the insurance brokers O’Driscoll O’Neil to artists in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Several agencies offer different forms of insurance, however we recommend that you speak to an expert who is fully aware of the artists’ needs.

It is considered best practice for the commissioner to lay out details of ownership and copyright in the original commission brief or in the artists’ contract. I would advise you to review the original commission brief and your contract to see if these issues were addressed. If these issues were not addressed and you have not assigned your copyright to the commissioner then the copyright remains with you. Assigning rights mean someone else becomes the owner of the copyright as well as the work. Visual Artists Ireland recommends that artists never assign their copyright to anybody.

When it comes to commissioning the issue of ownership is a bit of a grey area especially if there is no agreement in place. When a commissioner commissions a piece of work for a specific purpose there is an implied contract that the commissioner will own the work (though not the copyright – again unless you assigned it to them). With no agreement, the issue of ownership is open to interpretation. Thus, artists are advised to spell out their position concerning ownership when the terms of the commission are agreed.

When a commissioner commissions a piece of work then they have the right to reproduce the work in a variety of ways – for example using an image of the work for promotional purposes, on a website or in brochures. This should be stated in a contract or in the commission brief. If it is not, then it is implied that the commission can use the commissioned work in a number of ways.

As part of your copyright, you have moral rights, one of which is the right to paternity. So if the commissioner uses the work in a publication or on a website, you have the right to be identified as the creator of the work in the publication or on the website. The commissioner is the only party entitled to publish the work. If another party wishes to publish the work, they need your permission because you are the copyright owner.

There are a few texts in The Manual that address these issues in more detail:

The first entitled ‘Copyright and the Visual Artist’ written by Solicitor Linda Scales, explains copyright and how it works, ownership, assigning and licensing rights, moral rights and information on copyright infringement.

The second text is entitled ‘Handling Disputes’. Here, Linda Scales provides advice to artists on how to avoid professional disputes and manage those that do occur. The information includes a sample letter of complaint that deals with infringement of copyright.

Another entitled ‘Contracts’ explains the legalities of contracts and how they work. Here you will find sample contracts for use when undertaking a commission, exhibiting with a gallery or reproducing an artwork.

Unless you assigned your copyright to somebody else then you own the copyright. Assigning rights mean someone else becomes the owner of the copyright as well as the work. Visual Artists Ireland recommends that artists never assign their copyright to anybody. If you are the copyright owner then you have the right to use the work as you wish.

In this case, you should license your copyright to the person who wants to use your image on an album cover. Licensing means that another person can use the copyright material. There are a few ways of licensing copyright:

An exclusive license is a license, which is in writing and signed by you the copyright owner. Under an exclusive license, the licensee is the only person who can use the work in the way covered by the license. It is common in book publishing agreements, for example, for a writer to grant the publisher an exclusive license to print and publish the writer’s book. The writer is not then entitled to license another publisher to publish the same book during the period of the license.

Non-exclusive License: If you grant a non-exclusive license to do something with your work, you may continue to use your work in that way and you can also grant other people non-exclusive licenses to use your work in that way. You should negotiate and agree on the terms and conditions of the license. Discuss where the image will be used. Will it be used on the album cover exclusively or will it be used on flyers, brochures and websites for example. It is also important to state where the album will be distributed (locally or internationally) and the number of copies made. These are issues you need to discuss, agree on, put down in writing and have signed by both parties.

There are a few texts The Manual section of our website that you should find useful.

The first is entitled ‘Copyright and the Visual Artist’. Here solicitor Linda Scales presents an overview of copyright and how it works. She also advises artists on how to protect their copyright and what steps to take if copyright is infringed.

The second is ‘Contracts’. Here Linda Scales explains the legalities of contracts and how they work. She also provides sample contracts for use when undertaking a commission, exhibiting with a gallery or reproducing an artwork.

There is no going rate for this type of work as such. Many artists focus on finding the right price for their work but this cannot be done in the absence of knowing how much it costs to make the work. A number of variables – such as your time, your profile and your expenses – need to be considered before you can come up with a fee or a price. Where the card is distributed and the number of copies made will also play a factor in the price you charge. For example, if your artwork is going to be used by a global multinational, your fee would be much higher than if it is to be used by a local community enterprise.

There is a text in The Manual section of our website which we commissioned especially for artists that advises on how to go about pricing and costing artwork. Writer Annette Clancy provides practical advice on how to calculate and cost the labour time and overheads of your creative practice as well as guidance on how to price completed works and other artistic activity. View the text entitled ‘The Science and Art of Pricing and Costing Your Work’.

Another important thing to consider is drawing up a contract with the commissioner. You will need to give the commissioner a license to reproduce your artwork. Solicitor Linda Scales has written a text on Contracts tailored for artists. In it, she explains the legalities of contracts and how they work. She also provides sample contracts for use when undertaking a commission, exhibiting with a gallery or reproducing an artwork. You can view the text on Contracts in The Manual.

There is no set way of attracting curators, critics or other art professionals to shows. For most artists getting a review is a result of building and nurturing relationships with art professionals over a long period. This can be summed up as networking – doing your research, finding out names of the professionals you wish to target, introducing yourself to them (in person or via email) and nurturing these relationships. Keep them informed of all your art activities, suggest that they drop by your studio, personally invite them to your shows and then invite them to write a review.

Of course, this rarely yields immediate results but the important thing is to make sure you are on their radar – that they know your name, a little bit about your work, and when you are showing. There are only a small number of writers and critic in Ireland but there are hundreds of shows around the country each week. Critics cannot possibly see everything so it really is up to you the artist to ensure that writers and critics are at least aware of what you are up to.

It is advisable to learn the art of writing press releases (if you are not represented by a gallery who will do this for you). The information you provide in the press release should be factual and clear, and have some sort of edge that will attract critics and press to the show.

When you have researched your lists of contacts, each should be sent a press release and a personal invite to the show. Tell them a little bit about it within the body of the email and invite them to meet you there for a glass of wine. You can follow this up with a phone call to remind them. It does not work most of the time but through persistence and dedication you should be lucky sometimes.

To develop a good contact list you should research all the major art publications, writers, press officers, gallerists, journalists etc in the country and get their personal contact details.

A good place to start is the Who’s Who in The Manual.

Here you will find contact details for all the galleries, arts organisations, media and promotional tools and also a list of Irish and International art publications.

It is impossible to provide a detailed answer to this question as the issue is too subjective. However, Visual Artists lreland has commissioned Gaby Smyth and Co Accountants to prepare a guide on Tax, PRSI and Social Insurance benefits for self-employed artists.

This guide provides advice on how to keep books and records, prepare your accounts and how to file your returns. You can view the guide in The Manual section of the website.

Flannigan Edmonds Bannon, Chartered Accountants have prepared a very similar guide for artists in Northern Ireland. You can view it also find it in The Manual.

The Office of the Revenue Commissioners website has more comprehensive information on self-employment generally.

The Revenue website provides all the information you need to apply for the Artists’ Tax Exemption. Here you will find information on how the scheme works, eligibility, how to claim and the required claim forms. The site also provides a useful FAQ’s section relating to the Scheme. See: www.revenue.ie/en/tax/it/reliefs/artists-exemption.html

In addition, The Manual contains an article entitled ‘Tax and Self-Employment’ written by Gaby Smyth and Co. Accountants. Here you will find information on Tax, PRSI and Social Insurance benefits and the Tax Exemption for self-employed artists.

It is a very good idea to have a contract between you and the gallery, agreed at the planning stage, which lays out the terms and conditions of the preparation, exhibition and uninstalling period. This document should provide you with a framework that will keep any potential problems to a minimum.

The gallery will probably provide a document detailing a standard set of terms, which will be tailored to suit your individual circumstances. You will be asked to confirm acceptance of the terms. Some of the most important items to be addressed include:

• The duration and dates of the exhibition.
• The number of works to be exhibited, with a description
• The party responsible for transit arrangements, and insurance while in transit.
• Responsibility for hanging, and any special requirements of the artist.
• The terms of sale of the works, or other remuneration for the artist, with date of payment by the gallery.
• Gallery commission
• Arrangements for opening reception, including publicity.
• Insurance of works by the Gallery for the duration of the exhibition.
• Security and invigilation arrangements.
• Procedure in case of damage to work.

When presented with a set of standard terms by a gallery, you may find that not all matters are covered, or that some are not applicable. It is vital that any issues arising should be settled by negotiation as early as possible, confirmed in writing and added to the agreement.

Solicitor Linda Scales has prepared an article on Contracts which you will find in The Manual section of this website. It explains the legalities of contracts and how they work. This article also includes a comprehensive checklist of matters to be addressed when preparing to exhibit with a gallery.